Supply chains are a money drain for marketers: CMO Council

Marketers should efficiently manage their supply chains to save money, said the CMO Council in a study.

Liz Miller, VP of global programs and operations at the organization — and one of the authors of the report — said the study indicated marketers understand the amounts of money that flow into areas such as creative and production, but do not take into account the costs associated with things like warehousing and transportation.

The study found that 84% of respondents create print collateral; 66% make folders and hand-outs; 57% send direct mail; 54% create signage; and 25% make packaging and inserts. Thirty percent of respondents said they spend 20% to 30% of their marketing budget on consumables, while 21% spend 10% to 20% there.

The organization also found that 22% of respondents are transitioning all materials to digital or online content to reduce waste and eliminate out-of-date materials, while 10% are eliminating print materials and physical promotional materials entirely.

Research for the report, “Mapping and Tracking: The Optimized Marketing Supply Chain,” was conducted in August and September among 125 senior marketing executives in North America, the Asia-Pacific region and Europe.

The organization conducted the study with NVision, a research company focused on marketing supply chains.

The study also indicated that nearly 70% of participants admitted to, at some point, “stashing under-utilized, unwanted, out-of-date, or over-ordered materials into storage facilities that can range from a closet to a warehouse.”

“Marketers need to understand the supply chain to streamline, become sustainable, and eliminate waste,” said Miller. [Then they can] re-divert funds that would typically be invested into obsolete materials and be re-deployed into high yield technical generation programs.”

She noted that waste occurs in “improper investment” into materials valued by customers, but also from build up over time from not understanding the process of marketing supply chain management.

“Marketers need to optimize the process so they are not having to waste materials or overspend,” she emphasized.